LES
ENFANTS TERRIBLES
Lower East Side
37 Canal St. (Ludlow St.) New York, NY, 10002 (212) 777-7518
Lower East Side, jewel, this exciting, French-African
has been always busy with hip good-looking people. This
kitchen executes unique flavors and the cocktails are
out of this world.
QUEEN
OF SHEBA
650 10th Ave
New York, NY 10036
Cross Street: 46th Street
Phone: (212) 397-0610
Classic 10th Avenue Queen, with a full bar, ochre walls
and caring, informed servers. A flamboyant mix of Broadway
actor-types and African natives gather at the traditional
African tables, which look like giant baskets planted
on fireplugs. The
flavors of Ethiopian cuisine have no counterpart in American
cooking: If you like spongy buckwheat pancakes, you'll
flip for injera, the ubiquitous bread used to grab bites.
Almost everything else is stewed in or spiked with berbere,
a peppery, brick-colored paste. Timatim fitfit, a bread
salad with tomatoes, is a fresh-tasting appetizer. Doro
tips (chicken marinated and fried in spices) and tibs
wot (berbere stewed beef) make for savory and tender entrees.
Vegetarian dishes have one constant: mashed, spiced, room-temperature
beans. The malty Ethiopian beer is a must.
L'ORANGE
BLEUE 430 Broome St
New York, NY 10013 Cross Street: Crosby Street.
Phone: (212) 226-4999
Brightly painted, dining room, where a young, international
crowd fuels a fun filed dinning room. The lights go out,
the Arabic pop music comes on and a parade of sexy servers
waves sparklers as they dance around one of the evening's
many birthday boys or girls.
The Mediterranean-North African fare is more upscale than
authentic. Best of all are the tagines, which arrive steaming
hot in large, conical crocks: Both lamb with sweet dried
fruit and tangy chicken with preserved lemons and olives
are succulent successes.
